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anomaly - 7 dictionary results

a⋅nom⋅a⋅ly

  [uh-nom-uh-lee]
Use anomaly in a Sentence
–noun, plural -lies.
1. a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form.
2. someone or something anomalous: With his quiet nature, he was an anomaly in his exuberant family.
3. an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.
4. an incongruity or inconsistency.
5. Astronomy. a quantity measured in degrees, defining the position of an orbiting body with respect to the point at which it is nearest to or farthest from its primary.
6. Meteorology. the amount of deviation of a meteorological quantity from the accepted normal value of that quantity.
7. Grammar. irregularity.
Origin:
1565–75; < L anōmalia < Gk anōmalía, equiv. to anmal(os) anomalous + -ia -ia

Synonyms:
1, 2. abnormality, exception, peculiarity.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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a·nom·a·ly   (ə-nŏm'ə-lē)   
n.   pl. a·nom·a·lies
  1. Deviation or departure from the normal or common order, form, or rule.
  2. One that is peculiar, irregular, abnormal, or difficult to classify: "Both men are anomalies: they have . . . likable personalities but each has made his reputation as a heavy" (David Pauly).
  3. Astronomy The angular deviation, as observed from the sun, of a planet from its perihelion.
a·nom'a·lis'tic adj., a·nom'a·lis'ti·cal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Anomaly

A*nom"a*ly\, n.; pl. Anomalies. [L. anomalia, Gr. ?. See Anomalous.]

1. Deviation from the common rule; an irregularity; anything anomalous.

We are enabled to unite into a consistent whole the various anomalies and contending principles that are found in the minds and affairs of men. --Burke.

As Professor Owen has remarked, there is no greater anomaly in nature than a bird that can not fly. --Darwin.

2. (Astron.) (a) The angular distance of a planet from its perihelion, as seen from the sun. This is the true anomaly. The eccentric anomaly is a corresponding angle at the center of the elliptic orbit of the planet. The mean anomaly is what the anomaly would be if the planet's angular motion were uniform. (b) The angle measuring apparent irregularities in the motion of a planet.

3. (Nat. Hist.) Any deviation from the essential characteristics of a specific type.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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anomaly 
1571, from L. anomalia, from Gk. anomalia, noun of quality from anomalos "uneven, irregular," from an- "not" + homalos "even," from homos "same" (see same).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: anom·a·ly
Pronunciation: &-'näm-&-lE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -lies
: a deviationfrom normal especially of a bodily part anomalies> anomalies>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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anomaly a·nom·a·ly (ə-nŏm'ə-lē)
n.
A deviation from the average or norm.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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anomaly

in astronomy, originally the nonuniform (anomalous) apparent motions of the planets. In present usage, three kinds of anomaly are distinguished to describe the position in the orbit of a planet, a satellite, or a star (in a binary system) around the centre of mass. The following text relates to the orbit of a planet. True anomaly is the angle, V, between lines drawn from the centre of mass (near the centre of the Sun, S), to a planet P, and to the perihelion point B, where the planet comes closest to the Sun. The mean anomaly is the angle between lines drawn from the Sun to the perihelion B and to a point (not shown) moving in the orbit at a uniform rate corresponding to the period of revolution of the planet. The eccentric anomaly is the angle E, between the perihelion B, the centre of the ellipse at C, and the point P', which is located by drawing a perpendicular to AB passing through the planet and intersecting a circle of diameter AB.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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